Since the new novel is circling back to the first book in the series, Painted Black, I decided it made sense to bring Chris back in the new novel in a cameo role. Chris was the street kid that Jo was trying to help in that novel. I posted an old scene from Painted Black on the Birthing blog if you’d like to find out more about him.

The Chris on the screen struck Jo as slightly uncertain, but covering it with bravado. The bitterness hadn’t yet seeped into his tone.

In Cry Baby Cry, Jo is going to have to deal with guilt about not saving Chris’s friend in time, but will also confront herself and her own shortcomings. Not everyone is going to like her as much as I do, and she needs to deal with that.

I also had Jo meet Franco last week. Franco is…